Australia’s bushfire risk is not a distant threat—it’s a cycle we live in, and one that demands smart, continuous preparation. With changing climate patterns, longer fire seasons, and growing fuel loads across many landscapes, it’s more important than ever for communities, land managers, and homeowners to understand how to reduce risk. One of the key tools in the fire management toolbox is hazard reduction burning (also called prescribed burning, planned burns, fuel reduction burning).
Below is an in-depth guide to the upcoming bushfire season, what hazard reduction burns can (and can’t) do, and how you can plan ahead — from Tasmania to the Top End, from WA to the eastern seaboard.
The Fire Season Outlook & Why Early Action Matters
- The Australian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) publishes a Seasonal Bushfire Outlook which highlights regions of heightened risk, based on trends in rainfall, temperature, fuel loads, vegetation condition, and fire history.
- Recent trends show that fire seasons are starting earlier, stretching longer, and becoming more intense in many parts of Australia.
- Because many parts of the country will dry out earlier, the “window” for safely executing hazard reduction burns is narrowing. In some southern jurisdictions, very few days per year now meet the low-risk criteria for prescribed fire.
- Across all states and territories, landholders, councils, and fire agencies must coordinate early — doing preparatory work (e.g. planning, mapping, permit application, stakeholder engagement) well before the peak fire risk months.
Key message: Preparation must begin long before you can see smoke or smell it. Waiting until conditions worsen is too late.
What is Hazard Reduction Burning — and Why It Helps
What it is:
Hazard reduction burning is the deliberate, controlled use of fire under favorable weather and fuel conditions to remove or reduce the amount of combustible vegetation (fuel) in a landscape. In essence: reduce the fuel load so that when a wildfire comes, it has less to burn, spreads more slowly, and is easier to suppress. Here is the science behind it
Benefits:
- Reduce fire intensity & flame height
By removing fine fuels (leaves, twigs, dry grass) and reducing fuel continuity, burns moderate how hot and how tall a wildfire can run. This may protect houses, infrastructure, and human life. - Improve fire suppressibility
Fires that enter a treated patch are more controllable, giving firefighting crews better chance to stop fire spread.
This is particularly effective when hazard reduction is combined with fuel breaks, cleared edges, and strategic design.
Where done well, burns reduce the likelihood of high-intensity fire damaging homes, cultural assets, infrastructure, and sensitive ecological sites. - Ecological and cultural outcomes
In many jurisdictions, prescribed burns are integrated with ecological goals (e.g. regeneration, weed control) and cultural burning practices. Indigenous fire management traditions (cool burns, mosaic burning) are increasingly being reintroduced as complementary methods.
Limitations & risks:
- The benefits are temporary — over time vegetation regenerates, so burns must be maintained (often every few years in many ecosystems).
- Smoke emissions and air quality impacts: Hazard burns release fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) that can affect health, especially in urban or populated downwind zones. In some past burns, air quality has become hazardous for vulnerable people.
- Weather constraints: Only a narrow window of low wind, moderate humidity, and cooler temperatures are safe for burns. Outside that window, the risk of escape is too high.
- Social license and stakeholder concerns (e.g. smoke, impacts on agriculture or health) must be managed through community consultation and clear communication.
In short: hazard reduction burns are a powerful tool — but not a silver bullet. They must be carefully integrated into a broader fire management strategy that includes defensible design, land clearing, community awareness, and firefighting capacity.
Tailoring Strategies Across States & Climates
Australia’s vastness means one size doesn’t fit all. Below is a state-by-state overview of key considerations:
| State / Territory | Climate / Fuel Profile | Strategic Considerations |
| Queensland / Northern Australia | Tropical / savanna zones, with strong wet/dry seasonality | Early dry-season burns (patch burning) to reduce late-season fire risk; integrate with cultural burning methods. |
| New South Wales / ACT | Temperate to sub-tropical, varied topography and vegetation types | Coordination between state, regional and local fire agencies; buffer zones near urban fringes; community engagement is critical. |
| Victoria / Tasmania | Cooler, often wetter — but fire seasons are lengthening | Fewer safe burning days; greater reliance on landscape-scale planning, fuel breaks, and early intervention. |
| South Australia | Mediterranean and arid zones | Burns timed for autumn/early winter when conditions permit; coupling with mechanical fuel removals in sensitive zones. |
| Western Australia / Northern WA | Mediterranean and tropical zones | In south: cooler season burning; in north: combining mosaic burns in savanna landscapes. |
| Northern Territory / Top End | Savanna, monsoonal climate | Large-scale fire management agreements already exist (e.g. West Arnhem Fire Abatement) to manage greenhouse gas and fuel loads. |
No matter the region, the same principles apply: plan early, map fuels & risks, liaise with fire agencies and neighbours, and execute burns under safe conditions.
How Communities & Homeowners Can Prepare
While hazard reduction burning is largely done by councils, land managers, Parks agencies and fire services, there’s still much that residents and communities can do:
- Know your local authority’s burn schedule / policies
Monitor announcements by your state or local fire agencies about planned burns. Know whether smoke may drift into your area and plan accordingly. - Clear vegetation and maintain defensible space
Trim trees, mow grass, clear leaf litter, prune shrubs near buildings. For rural landowners, maintain buffer zones around structures. Queensland Fire Department+2DETSI Queensland+2 - Design and maintain fire-safe access
Ensure driveways and roads permit fire trucks, have adequate clearance, and are not blocked by overhanging trees or hedges. - Create and practice a bushfire survival plan
Use templates provided by agencies (e.g. CFA in Victoria) CFA Victoria+2CFA Victoria+2
Decide your trigger for leaving (e.g. fire danger rating), your route(s), what to take with you, and how to stay informed. - Know and trust official warnings
Understand alert levels (“Advice”, “Watch & Act”, “Emergency Warning”) and have multiple ways to receive them (apps, SMS, radio). Fire Rescue+2CFA Victoria+2 - Look out for vulnerable neighbours
In bushfire-prone regions, community coordination is key. Share information, help plan evacuation routes, and warn one another. - Address smoke health impacts
If a hazard burn is conducted nearby, people with asthma, COPD or cardiovascular conditions should reduce exposure, stay indoors with filtered air if possible, and follow health advice, such as this from Asthma Australia